Thursday, June 10, 2010

Have you seen those cool 7Gypsies Artist's trays that are so neat?? You can see a bunch of examples here. I've been wanting one for a loooong time but I didn't want to spend the 20 bucks (+ shipping). Yes, I'm cheap. I rather prefer to call myself thrifty :)

So I've been on the hunt for something similar that I could fix up to use for my photo collage. Then I came upon this little beauty at the thrift store a couple weeks ago:

Jackpot!!! Not sure what this thing was used for or how old it is but it was exactly what I was looking for. And the best part?? It was just 4 bucks!

I decided that I wanted my collage to be about summer photos. And wouldn't you know it, my Noel Mignon kit arrived just yesterday filled with all kinds of summer goodies. Perfect!!!

First I painted the tray white. Since I was using fun, bright summer papers I wanted the tray to lighten up, too. But I didn't want it to look all white so after 3 coats of spray paint (my new best decorating friend) I sanded the edges up a bit for that distressed look. Then I set out to trim papers & photos to fit in all the little squares. Because this tray is who-knows-how-old all of the squares weren't quite the same size and I had to do quite a bit of trimming here and there. That's ok. It's unique, right?!

And since I was using fun and bright papers & embellishments, I decided to print my photos in black and white so that they would stand out a bit and not compete with the papers.

I am so happy with how it turned out! I popped up some of the embellishments with foam adhesive and added some butterflies along the outside for added interest. I also popped up a few of the photos...I used 4 foam squares to really make them stand out.

You can see how the photo of my son is a lot further forward than the photo of my daughter. I like the look that gives to the collage.

And when it came to how to hang this, I added a simple drawer handle that I picked up at the store for 5 bucks (for the pair). I'll use the other one in another project I'm sure. The handle adds some visual interest and I can either keep this collage on a table or add a ribbon and hang it on the wall. I attached it with Gorilla Glue because the screws would show through so we'll see how long that holds...I'll let ya know!

I've been a lurker here for sometime. I just LOVE your blog, your thrity finds and your creativity! Thanks so much for sharing it all! This is an absolutely fabulous project! I am definitely doing one of these, thanks so much for the inspiration.

That is SO SERIOUSLY CUTE! I love it. I think the white and the papers and the photos are all completely WOW! That thing was just begging to be made cute....and I think you answered it's plea! Yay you!

This is awesome! I have a tray that I"m trying to figure out what to do with. Every wednesday I post an item on my blog for readers to suggest what to do with it, this week it's my tray. I thought I knew what I wanted to do, but now I might have to reconsider!

Love, love, love this project and everything about it, your colour choices are so gorgeous. Would you mind if I borrowed some of your photos to show on my blog (it's in Swedish) with a link to your blog?

WOW!! This is beautiful, love all the summer colors and everything pops and looks great together. I just got this idea a few weeks ago and did mine too. I didn't think of painting it though will do that next time. I think this is such a fun project for everyone. Thanks for sharing.

This is just beautiful!! I'm going to scouring the thrift stores to find a tray like this!!I am featuring this on my friday favorites http://www.lilbitofus.blogspot.com Sorry I don't have a direct link, but I'm scheduling it today to post for tomorrow and I wanted to know I was featuring this!

I'm so excited! I saw this in June and fell in love with it, but never thought i would ever find one of those thingy's. But I was at the DI the other day and I totally found one for $0.50! I can't wait to make it as cute as yours...hopefully. Thanks for the inspriation so that when i saw that thingy at the DI...I knew exactly what to do with it.

I am a wife & SAHM to my 3 wonderfully crazy kids. I love spending time with friends, sitting in sweats watching tv on a Friday night, blogging, surfing the net, Coke, baking, Twilight, acting totally silly with my hubby & kids, gardening, sewing and, of course, scrapbooking. I love to scrap til the wee hours of the night when the house is quiet. It's my hobby, my way of preserving precious memories, my sanity...you get the idea! This blog is all about my life, my hobbies and everything in between! Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to contact me at meandmyscraps{at}yahoo{dot}com